Midweek Review
C 4 narrative reminiscent of its previous ones on the eve of the annual Geneva sessions and Sallay’s challenge
Easter Sunday plot:
C4 presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy towards the end of their latest film on Sri Lanka, posed three questions to the viewers. Did Sallay meet those who perpetrated the Easter Sunday massacre? Did the Directorate of Military Intelligence mislead police, and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the President, sabotage the investigation? Those accused should answer these questions. As Guru-Murthy stressed that the families of those who perished deserved the truth. Perhaps, those genuinely interested in establishing the truth should also investigate/seek an explanation why extremist NTJ mounted suicide attacks to facilitate the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, always portrayed as a Sinhala Buddhist hardliner. C4 should accept Sallay’s challenge to verify his whereabouts/activities in 2018 and 2019 with Malaysian and Indian authorities. On its own, C4 can verify when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country. The Indian origin Guru-Murthy declared that Rajapaksa fled on Sept. 22, 2022 whereas the truth is the President flew out of Colombo on July 13, 2022 and returned on Sept 03, 2022. That basic blunder highlights how the media can be overwhelmed by a ‘story.’
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Hanzeer Azad Maulana, who had been with Sivanesathurai Santhirakanthan aka Pilleyan (formerly of the LTTE), till he fled the country and decided to seek political asylum in the West last year, in an interview with Channel 4 (C4) Television last week accused Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay of facilitating the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage to get Gotabaya elected as the President.
How could Sallay have had engineered such a big clandestine operation that included meeting would-be terrorist suicide bombers at a coconut estate as allegedly arranged by Maulana at the behest of Pillayen, while being posted to the Sri Lanka High Commission in Malaysia (Dec. 2016-Dec. 2018) and then from January 2019-Nov. 2019 when he was at the National Defence College, India, including on the day of the cowardly near simultaneous suicide blasts targeting civilians on the morning of Easter Sunday April 21, 2019, and another a few hours later at New Tropical Inn, Dehiwela, near the National Zoo that sent shock waves, not only through Sri Lanka, but across the world?
State Minister Pilleyan is the Leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), a breakaway faction of the LTTE in Parliament. Pilleyan, elected from the eastern Batticaloa district, is the only TMVP MP in Parliament aligned with the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government.
Sallay’s alleged role in the Easter Sunday carnage is based on the claim of a sole individual Maulana that the senior military officer met the group of would-be suicide bombers at a large coconut estate, bordering the Kalpitiya lagoon at Karadipuval, in Wanathavilluwa, in the Puttalam District, in Feb. 2018. whereas the officer being accused says there are plenty of international alibis to prove he was not in Sri Lanka during the period concerned. Sallay insists that he never left Malaysia, for any destination, during 2018. The estate is called Lactowatta. The blasts claimed the lives of 269 persons, including 43 foreigners. Eight British tourists were among them. It would be necessary to stress Maulana’s claim that he arranged the meeting at the behest of directives received from Pilleyan, in September 2017 and January 2018.
During this entire period, Pilleyan, an erstwhile sidekick of Karuna (Vinayagamurthy Muralitharan aka Karuna), had been in remand for his alleged involvement in the assassination of Joseph Pararajasingham of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA National List) in Dec. 2005.
In response to queries posed in August this year by the UK-based production company, Basement Films, which produced the latest C4 film, Sallay asked them to verify with Malaysian and Indian authorities of his whereabouts in Feb. 2018 and April 19, 2021. That is the crux of the matter.
War-winning Army Chief Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka’s suggestion that Sallay may have entered Sri Lanka through an illegal route, in 2018, shows how diabolical and politically motivated he could be, having jumped headlong into the political cesspit at the end of the war.
Our Colombo 07-type folks might still swallow that myth about the British sense of justice and fair play and will readily accept anything aired by its media institutions as the gospel truth. Let us first of all not forget that it was the BBC that gave the signal to topple the duly elected democratic government of Iran, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, in 1953.
The truth is London, which was deeply involved in slavery, having plundered much of the world in the name of god and king/queen, is still up to the same old tricks but in less lethal ways. In recent decades, virtually all their “highly respectable” banks have been fined hundreds of millions of dollars by American regulators for laundering drug money for international narcotic cartels. So we need not talk about how it went to war with China to dump opium in that country, in the 19th Century.
The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government should request Malaysian and Indian assistance in this regard. The government shouldn’t, under any circumstance, hesitate to have these accusations investigated. The failure to take tangible measures to ascertain the truth, without further delay, can cause catastrophic and irreversible damage. There shouldn’t be any issue with the government seeking foreign assistance as Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), European Intelligence services and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) had been already involved in the Easter Sunday investigations.
C4 declared that Maulana, who fled Sri Lanka in 2022, and submitted himself to European Intelligence agencies and the United Nations Human Rights Council, won the confidence of interviewers. Against the backdrop of UNHRC and European Intelligence services asserting Maulana’s claim credible, it would be pertinent to ask them whether they verified Maulana’s claim that Sallay travelled to Colombo and then Lactowatta, in Feb, 2018. Had they done so, the latest C4 episode would have ‘decapitated’ Sallay.
In fact, the meeting at Lactowatta seems to be central to the heinous plot as towards the end of the much-touted C4 film, Maulana declared with authority that the Feb. 2018 secret meeting between Sallay and would-be suicide bombers took place at the same location. Therefore, Sri Lanka should immediately have Sallay’s ‘clandestine’ visit to Colombo, in Feb. 2018, as alleged by C4, investigated with the highest international participation.
Perhaps, the vast majority of complacent Sri Lankans had quite conveniently forgotten the raid conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Lactowatta, on January 16, 2019. The plainclothesmen were later joined by elite Police Commandos. The CID was hunting for those who had vandalized Buddhist statues in the Mawanella, Peradeniya and Velambada police areas from Dec 23, 2018 to Dec 26, 2018. Some authorities described Lactowatta as a Jihadist Training Camp though it didn’t have any infrastructure.
Allegations pertaining to the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) hindering investigations into extremist activities should be examined taking into consideration a petition filed by Gnanendra Shani Abeysekara, retired SSP who served as the Director, CID (2017-2019). The veteran investigator moved SC in terms of Article 126 read with Article 17 of the Constitution in Feb. 2022 claiming an attempt to implicate him over his failure to thwart the Easter Sunday carnage.
The ex-top cop’s specific allegations directed at the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and DMI as regards the overall investigation into extremist activities, including high profile claim that two persons, including an ex-LTTE cadre, were falsely implicated in the killing of two police constables (Ganesh Dinesh and Walpita Gamage Niroshan Indika Prasanna) on Nov 30, 2018, at a checkpoint at Vavunathivu, Batticaloa. What Abeysekara said was astonishing. The heavyset one-time Police Commando alleged that the SIS and DMI made a deliberate bid to deceive the CID pertaining to the Vavunathivu incident. Abeysekara also declared that the Easter Sunday carnage could have been averted if the SIS and DMI shared information regarding those who killed the constables. If Sri Lanka is genuinely interested in establishing the truth, the entire gamut of issues should be investigated.
The CID swooped down on Lactowatta in the late afternoon of January 16, 2019. Mohamad Razik Thaslim, Coordinating Secretary to the then Yahapalana Minister Kabir Hashim, accompanied the CID team to Lactowatta. On March 29, 2019, Thaslim was shot in the head while he was asleep at his home located at Danagama, Mawanella, by Islamic extremists soon thereafter. In spite of receiving severe injuries, he survived.
Who really prevented the government from going all out against the extremist groups, at least after the raid on Lactowatta, and the assassination attempt on Kabir Hashim’s aide? Regardless of the SIS and DMI not providing anticipated support to the CID, the raid on Lactowatta revealed the growing threat posed by extremists, led by deranged Zahran. The Yahapalana leadership owed an explanation why it couldn’t/didn’t thwart the plot, especially after India warned, on April 04, 2019, of imminent attacks.
The conduct of the SIS and DMI during that period should be thoroughly examined and if the retired SSP allegation proved right those responsible should be appropriately and harshly dealt with.
Rajan Hoole’s disclosure
Academic Dr. Rajan Hoole dealt with the Easter Sunday carnage several weeks before the last presidential election on Nov. 16, 2019. Titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy: When the Deep State gets out of its Depth’ in the Ravaya publication. It skillfully discussed the circumstances leading to the first and the only terrorist attack since the successful conclusion of the war in May 2009. At that time, Hoole deliberated the Easter Sunday plot, Maulana remained with Pilleyan. If what Maulana claimed in his interview with C4 is true then he had no qualms in working with Pilleyan, even after the Easter Sunday massacre, until he left the country.
The author is the brother of Ratnajeevan Hoole, who served as a member of the Election Commission during the Yahapalana administration. Having perused the book and its Sinhala translation (translated by Mahinda Hatthaka, Movement for Defense of Democratic Rights), there cannot be any dispute Hoole shed light on the complex web of secrets/situations/relationships that created an environment conducive for the murderous plot.
Hoole, who authored ‘The Arrogance of Power: Myths, decadence and murder,’ in January 2001, quite clearly blamed the State elements for the attack. A founding member of the daring and pioneering University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) Jaffna that defied the LTTE at its might with its clandestine publications, Dr. Hoole is explicit in his accusation that those who backed SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa created an environment to deprive the Muslims of an opportunity to vote at the Nov. 2019 presidential election. The author asserted that the attempt failed while making reference to the plantation Tamils being disenfranchised in 1949, consequent to the 1948 Citizenship Act. However, the author quite conveniently refrained from recalling how the LTTE-TNA combine denied the northern community an opportunity to vote at the Nov. 2005 presidential election. That calculated move definitely cost UNP candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe the election. Wickremesinghe lost by 186,000 votes. The writer discussed Hoole’s assertions in an article titled ‘Failed 2015 political project may have triggered Easter Sunday attacks,” on Oct. 21, 2020 edition of The Island.
Therefore, Moulana’s interview didn’t surprise the vast majority though he appeared to have caused an unnecessary complication by his unsubstantiated claim that Sallay met would-be suicide bombers at Lactowatta in Feb. 2018 whereas the officer being accused challenged C4 to check with Malaysia whether he left for Colombo during the whole of that year.
At the time Zahran mounted the attacks, the UNP-SLFP Yahapalana arrangement was in tatters against the backdrop of President Sirisena’s failed bid to oust Premier Wickremesinghe. The extremists couldn’t have been unaware of the pathetic state of governance and sought to exploit the situation. The overall failure of that government should be reviewed taking into consideration a specific warning given to President Sirisena by the then Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne, in charge of the CID and SSP (petitioner) Abeysekara regarding the extremist threat as the destruction of Buddhist statues was carried out by the group that managed Lactowatta.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, SSP Abeysekara alleged that President Sirisena didn’t keep his promise to grant Seneviratne an opportunity to brief the National Security Council of the extremist threat, thereby marshaling SIS and DMI support to eradicate it. The ex-President must be asked to explain as to why he failed to take action after having met the two cops on Feb. 02, 2019, about 11 weeks ahead of the attacks. Sri Lanka received the first Indian warning on April 04, 2019.
As Maulana alleged, could Sallay interfere with the DMI while serving as Minister Counsellor in Malaysia and subsequently during the NDC course? If India knew of the plot, its intelligence services couldn’t have missed Sallay’s alleged involvement and placed him under surveillance.
A fresh look at accountability issues
Former CID officer Inspector Nishantha Silva was among those interviewed by C4. The British television channel disclosed that European intelligence services talked to Silva, too. The Swiss Embassy in Colombo facilitated Silva’s clandestine departure just over a week after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election, as the seventh executive president, with an overwhelming majority. Claiming that he was obstructed by Navy and Army intelligence, the experienced investigator essentially commented on the assassination of the founding editor of Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickramatunga on January 08, 2009. The C4 film blamed Wickrematunga’s assassination on what it called ‘Tripoli platoon’ run by Pilleyan. C4 described the unit as a para-military outfit tasked with eliminating those who earned the wrath of the Rajapaksas. The unit was accused of enforcing disappearances.
It would be pertinent to mention that close on the heels of Inspector Silva fleeing to Switzerland, local Swiss Embassy employee Garnier Francis, formerly Siriyalatha Perera, caused quite a controversy by alleging government agents sexually abused her after having abducted her outside the mission. Her claim was subsequently proved to be a blatant lie. The case was settled after she retracted her claims that were given prominent attention by the New York Times, but not her retraction or the exoneration of the government by the ccourts.
The others interviewed by C4 were Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, former Human Rights Commissioner (during the Yahapalana administration) and Attorney-at-Law Ambika Satkunanathan, former Sunday Leader editor Frederica Jansz, slain Sunday Leader editor’s elder brother, Lal Wickrematunga, former lawmaker (UNP) and one-time Ambassador to Germany Sarath Kongahage (Mahinda Rajapaksa administration), a few victims of the Easter Sunday carnage and a person who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Statements that cannot be examined should be discarded. (General Sarath Fonseka was sentenced to three years in jail and fined Rs.5000 in a two-one split verdict delivered in the white flag case based on an interview Jansz did in Dec. 2009, a few weeks before the presidential election. Jansz did the interview in her capacity as the Editor of Sunday Leader. It was headlined “Gota ordered them to be shot – General Sarath Fonseka’ in the Dec. 13, 2009 edition).
As anticipated, C4 dealt with Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election at the 2005 presidential election and the developments beginning with the LTTE taking up arms. C4 refrained from mentioning the origins of terrorism here but reiterated unsubstantiated allegations that 40,000 civilians perished in the final phase of the government offensive on the Vanni east front in 2009. The failure on the part of many to mention that India caused terrorism in Sri Lanka is baffling. Sri Lanka lacked the backbone to set the record straight at the UNHRC with regard to the origins of terrorism here.
Perhaps C4 still doesn’t accept that the UK Foreign Office, in response to queries posed under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in 2014 after a three year delay acknowledged that the death toll was 7,000-8,000 not 40,000 as claimed on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations. Like the person who spoke to C4 on the condition of anonymity, the identities of those who claimed 40,000 killings during that period would remain buried at least till 2031. C4 cannot ignore the official British records against the backdrop of its readiness to accept unsubstantiated allegations made by Maulana and an unidentified person. Their approach reminds us of how the UK media propagated the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) allegation to facilitate the US-British led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
At the beginning of the C4 film, reference was made to the deaths of eight British tourists in the Easter Sunday carnage. The British must be reminded how they allowed the LTTE a free hand in the UK until the Sri Lankan military erased the LTTE conventional military capability. The LTTE maintained its so-called International Secretariat in London even up to the time the terrorist group assassinated the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with a suicide bomber in April 1991, while their ideologue Anton Balasingham enjoyed the status of a British citizen until he died there peacefully in Dec. 2006 and his widow Adele, notorious for adorning their trade mark suicide capsules on Tiger female cadres, continue to live there scot free. Those shedding crocodile tears for terrorists should probe how millions in foreign currency were raised by the LTTE in the West since the ’80s to wage the terrorist war in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka political leadership should be ashamed for its pathetic failure to represent the country’s interests. Sri Lanka’s sponsorship of the 2015 Geneva Resolution proved the then Yahapalana government’s treachery. It betrayed its own armed forces before turning a blind eye to the growing extremist threat that culminated with the devastating 2019 Easter Sunday massacre.
The world must be reminded how LTTE terrorism here influenced far right extremist Andres Breivik to go on a killing spree in Norway in July 2011. The massacre of 77 innocent people, mostly teenagers, shocked the world. The onetime Norwegian diplomat’s son declared, ahead of the attacks, that he was inspired by the LTTE. In July 2016, European Union member state Germany asserted that an18-year-old gunman who had massacred nine people at the Olympia shopping mall in Munich was inspired by Breivik.
Even 15 years after the eradication of the LTTE, Sri Lankan political leaders haven’t been able to address accusations pertaining to accountability issues. Sri Lankan political parties seem only good at perpetrating corruption, fraud, irregularities and mismanagement. They collectively bankrupted the country, thereby helping those who still remained committed to separatist agenda here. Continuing offensive over the accountability issues is central to their overall strategy meant to do away with Sri Lanka’s unitary status. That is the bottom line.
Apropos ‘Alleged secret meeting with NTJ: Maj. Gen. Sallay says he was not in Sri Lanka for the whole of 2018’ in Sept. 07 edition of The Island, at the time Sallay arrived in Malaysia as Minister Counsellor, Pakeer Mohideen Amza served as our HC there. The career diplomat was replaced by A. J. M. Muzammil in late Feb. 2017. He was there at the time of the Easter Sunday carnage.
We thank journalist Ranga Srilal for pointing out the error in our report.
Midweek Review
Ranil reveals bid to get rid of him while GR was fleeing to Trinco on board SLNS Gajabahu
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Attempts had been made to compel UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to give up the premiership immediately after the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had left Janadhipathi Mandiraya in the early afternoon of July 09, 2022.
That had been the devious Aragalaya strategy meant to pave the way for Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to assume executive powers as a mere figurehead and with them easily controlling him with the threat of further upheaval. Obviously Aragalaya strategists wanted to force Wickremesinghe out of office before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa quit the presidency.
However, they may not have expected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee President’s House immediately after protestors breached its main gates.
As we recall the law enforcers simply did nothing to halt the advance of the mob right into the President’s House, as people like US Ambassador Julie Chung openly prevailed on law enforcers not to act against what she repeatedly termed “peaceful protesters”, even after they, in a preplanned operation, meticulously burnt down more than hundred properties of government politicos and loyalists, across the country, on May 09/10, 2022. So they were on the whole the proverbial wolves in sheep’s clothing working with the Western regime change project here as was previously done in places like Libya and Iraq.
President Wickremesinghe discussed the challenge faced by him at the time of the Aragalaya, when he addressed a group of young legal professionals at the Presidential Secretariat on May 28.
Among those who had been at the head table was Colombo District SLPP lawmaker Premanath C. Dolawatte, an Attorney-at-Law and now widely believed to be one of those pursuing the UNP leader’s agenda.
Stressing the importance of the executive presidency in restoring stability, President Wickremesinghe recalled the situation as Aragalaya forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of Janadhipathi Mandiraya. The President said that some persons had asked him to resign as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was on board a ship and on his way to Trincomalee.
The President’s Media Division (PMD) quoted him as having told the young professionals how he declined to resign unless an MP, who commanded the confidence of the majority in Parliament, emerged against the backdrop of chaos. The President said that even if he wrote a letter of resignation, he couldn’t have handed it over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he was on his way to Trincomalee in a ship or flying to the Maldives to escape mob justice.
The President said that if he resigned, due to pressure brought on him by a particular person, or due to the destruction of his residence, at the top of 05th Lane, in Colombo 07, near Royal Primary, also on July 09, 2022, someone would have secured power outside the democratic process.
The President’s comments on Aragalaya didn’t attract sufficient media attention. In fact, the coverage of the Presidential Secretariat event had been influenced by the PMD media release. Both print and electronic media focused on the President pointing out that none of those contesting the forthcoming Presidential poll had assured so far that executive powers would be done away with.
Actually, at the 2019 Presidential election, SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa never referred to the abolition of the Executive Presidency or further dilution of executive powers. The wartime Defence Secretary aspired to be an all-powerful Executive President and, in fact, further enhanced the presidency with the enactment of the 20th Amendment, enacted in late October 2020. The move to introduce a new Constitution was also meant to further enhance the Executive Presidency. That report, prepared at a tremendous cost to the taxpayer, is gathering dust, probably at the Presidential Secretariat. Perhaps Gotabaya Rajapaksa should inquire from his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe what he intended to do with it. The former President has every right to seek an explanation, not only from the President, but the Cabinet-of-Ministers as well.
Let us get back to President Wickremesinghe’s disclosure of the bid to force him out of office soon after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa boarded SLNS Gajabahu (formerly Sherman of the US Coast Guard), at the Colombo harbor, to escape the pursuing mob.
Now that President Wickremesinghe again made reference to Aragalaya’s bid to get rid of him, who could have asked Premier Wickremesinghe to resign on July 09, 2022? Had there been similar demands/requests in the run-up to Wickremesinghe receiving the appointment as President on July 14?
Perhaps, President Wickremesinghe would never reveal the identities of those who demanded his resignation, obviously on more than one occasion during July 09-14 period.
Political party system in a bind
Post-Aragalaya political leadership conveniently refrained from inquiring into the overthrowing of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Nearly two years after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster, there hadn’t been an effort, at any level, to conduct a thorough investigation into Aragalaya.
No holds barred investigation into Aragalaya shouldn’t be mixed up with individual cases, such as the killing of SLPP lawmaker Amatakeerthi Atukorale and his police bodyguard, at Nittambuwa, on the afternoon of May 09, 2022, or the killing of a protester at Rambukkana on April 19, 2022. A proper probe into Aragalaya should focus on the circumstances leading to the eruption of violent protest campaign, outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s private residence at Pangiriwatte, Mirihana, on the night of March 31, 2022, and the period till President Wickremesinghe deployed the military and the police, including the Special Task Force (STF), on July 22, 2022, to clear the Presidential Secretariat of protesters. And all those who were threatening to die for the “system change,” they were ostensibly clamouring for, simply vanished into thin air. How convenient! And how conveniently Julie Chung’s trap, too, shut on behalf of Aragalaya?
Had Wickremesinghe lacked the courage to do so, regardless of “international “condemnation”, the Aragalaya could have been still in control of the President’s House, Presidential Secretariat, etc. Wickremesinghe acted swiftly and decisively as he realized the danger in failing to bring back the situation under control, within a short period of time. Or was that all a show to hoodwink the country? May be he knew too much about JVP shenanigans, especially with the West for them being the principal mover of the demand for system change, too, to go silent, like obedient kittens, with Ranil at the helm.
National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa, MP, in April 2023, named outgoing US Ambassador Julie Chung as one of the key Aragalaya conspirators. The former JVP heavyweight went to the extent of alleging that Ambassador Chung personally met Speaker Abeywardena at the latter’s official residence in the wake of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing Janadhipathi Mandiraya.
Speaker Abeywardena never denied Weerawansa’s claim, though Ambassador Chung dismissed the allegation. However, President Wickremesinghe latest disclosure should be examined, taking into Speaker’s declaration in March this year that those who spearheaded Aragalaya even threatened him unless he cooperated with them. Speaker Abeywardena declared that Aragalaya wanted him to accept the presidency, though the Constitution stipulated that the Premier should succeed the President.
Then, obviously, those who demanded Wickremesinghe to resign, and Speaker Abeywardena to accept the Presidency in July 2020, must be the same. There cannot be any dispute whatsoever regarding the Aragalaya strategy. Obviously, ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his widely read book ‘The Conspiracy to Oust Me from Presidency’ failed to properly deal with external intervention, particularly the interventions made by Ambassador Chung.
The US, through Ambassador Chung’s interventions, ensured protection for Aragalaya throughout the high profile project as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s control rapidly eroded. The then government never really comprehended the grave implications of the April 19, 2022 Rambukkana incident. The senior police officer in charge of Kegalle, Senior Superintendent of Police K.B. Keerthiratne, had to undergo the humiliation of being arrested and remanded over a police shooting that claimed the life of a protester. Had Keerthiratne failed to order that shooting, the protesters would have set ablaze a fully loaded bowser, carrying petrol, strategically placed across the rail tracks there to create chaos and disrupt rail transport By the time the SSP and three other policemen received bail, in August, Wickremesinghe was the President.
The former President should have dealt with the Rambukkana issue in his memoirs. There cannot be any doubt, or dispute, that the utterly irresponsible government response to police firing at Rambukkana discouraged the military from taking tangible measures to thwart the overrunning of Janadhipathi Mandiraya.
The Aragalaya opened Janadhipathi Mandiraya and Presidential Secretariat for the public and they remained in their hands until President Wickremesinghe regained control on July 22, 2022.
Prez draws sharp criticism
Sri Lanka couldn’t have continued with chaos caused in the wake of the political-economic-social crisis that threatened the ruination of the war-winning country that also successfully undertook so many development projects, like building expressways in the country for the first time, badly needed new international airport and even an international harbour, that became the envy of even our giant neighbour. Speaker Abeywardena, whatever his shortcomings and failures, should receive the respect and gratitude of all for saving the country from a horrible fate. Sri Lanka’s unitary status had been at stake and the country faced the risk of disintegrating.
Having been elected as the 8th Executive President on July 20, 2022 by the SLPP parliamentarians, who had the majority in the House, the UNP leader moved swiftly to regain control. Since then, Wickremesinghe, in spite of being reduced to just one National List MP in Parliament, never looked back as he advanced his agenda.
The President’s decision to do away with the Galle Face protest site earned the wrath of those who hoped for a different outcome. They expected Speaker Abeywardena, as Head of State, at least for a brief period, pending post-Gaddafi-style Libyan administration.
The following are some of the statements issued by the “usual suspects” who blindly tow the US line, in the wake of President Wickremesinghe’s directive:
UN Human Rights Commission:
“We are alarmed by the unnecessary use of force by security forces to break up a protest camp near presidential offices in Colombo. We condemn reports of beatings of protesters, journalists and lawyers and urge authorities to halt the use of force.”
The UNHRC Sri Lanka Core Group (consisting of Canada, Germany, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the USA and the UK):
“peaceful protest is fundamental to any democracy and dismayed at the violence which took place at Galle Face on Friday.” The grouping called for full respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Amnesty International South Asia:
“…the attack on ‘GotaGoGama,’ the peaceful protest site in Colombo by the police and the military is unacceptable and authorities must stand down immediately. The right to protest must be protected. Sri Lankan authorities must immediately cease these acts of violence and release those arrested unlawfully in this manner. Authorities must also protect the freedom of the press. Journalists must not be barred from ‘GotaGoGama’. Blocking journalists from doing their jobs directly violates freedom of the press.”
Human Rights Watch South Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly said:
“President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been telling donors and friends that he is committed to resolving the economic crisis, and yet among his first acts was to deploy a midnight security forces raid to disperse the peaceful protesters. The international community needs to act now, send a strong message that the global efforts are directed to support the people of Sri Lanka, and not to prop up abusive political leaders who undermine fundamental freedoms.”
UN Resident Coordinator Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said she was gravely concerned by the use of force to disperse protesters.
“Journalists and human rights defenders have a right to monitor demonstrations and their functions should not be impeded. Actions that stifle protests and right to peaceful assembly can worsen economic and political stability in Sri Lanka. Peaceful solutions in accordance with broad public consultations is the only way forward.”
The European Union:
“Freedom of expression proved essential to Sri Lanka’s current transition. Hard to see how severely restricting it can help in finding solutions to the current political and economic crises.”
UK High Commissioner Sarah Hulton expressed concern over the attack and said:
“We have made clear the importance of the right to peaceful protest.”
US Ambassador Julie Chung:
“Deeply concerned about actions taken against protestors at Galle Face in the middle of the night. We urge restraint by authorities and immediate access to medical attention for those injured.”
Canadian High Commissioner David McKinnon:
“It is crucial the authorities act with restraint and avoid violence.”
The Presidential Secretariat remained in the hands of protesters till midnight July 22, 2022, out of the three State properties they took control of on July 09. Protesters evacuated from the other two – the President’s House and Temple Trees ahead of any confrontation with the military tasked to remove them!
In the absence of proper investigations…
Chief Government Whip Prasanna Ranatunga is one of the few lawmakers to question the failure on the part of relevant authorities to investigate organized attacks on government MPs. When the writer raised this issue with Minister Ranatunga a few moons ago, the Gampaha District SLPP strongman expressed serious disappointment over the status of the investigations.
Declaring that his properties at Udugampola, Gampaha, had been set ablaze in the presence of law enforcement officers, Urban Development and Housing Minister Ranatunga said that he was still awaiting the conclusion of the investigation undertaken by the Human Rights Commission. None of those who had been identified as responsible for systematic destruction of houses and other properties belonging to government members and in some cases supporters hadn’t been dealt with.
President Wickremesinghe’s recent disclosure of efforts to force him out of the Premier’s Office revealed that there hadn’t been a proper investigation into the Aragalaya at all. What is the mysterious evil hand preventing justice being done to victims of mob justice by Aragalaya? But the evil West leaves no stone unturned in seeking “justice” on behalf of the LTTE and its sympathisers, who tried to break up this country through sheer raw terror.
It would be interesting to know the status of the investigation promised by the Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC, into the May 9/10 attacks on politicians’ properties. A case filed by a group of politicians, demanding an investigation into these incidents, had been withdrawn in late May, 2023 on an assurance given by the Attorney General.
The State Counsel appearing on behalf of the Attorney General assured Court that the AG had received an assurance from the Public Security Ministry that there would be a formal investigation into the incidents and secondly, the Secretary to the President promised that the Wasantha Karannagoda Committee report on the May 2022 incidents would be brought to the attention of the President.
What is the status of the promised investigation? President Wickremesinghe cannot absolve himself of the responsibility for ensuring a comprehensive investigation into violence perpetrated during 2022.
In spite of allegations that the JVP instigated an attack on Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa at the Galle Face protest site on the afternoon of May 09, 2022, the main Opposition party never pushed hard for an investigation.
Recently MP Premadasa confirmed the alleged JVP plot when the writer sought his response to SLPP MP Johnston Fernando’s declaration that Premadasa would have been lynched if his driver failed to reverse the vehicle at high-speed after the JVP mob surrounded Premadasa. Sunil Handunetti declared that both Johnston and Sajith should have their heads examined. But JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was virtually received with open arms by the same Aragalaya activists on the same day at the same venue
Another matter for serious concern is that all suspects arrested in connection with the killing of MP Amarakeerthi Atukorale were granted bail without the AG being consulted. The accusation has been made by the AG in respect of the decision taken by the Trial-at-Bar of the Gampaha High Court. We would refrain from commenting on the issue at hand as the matter is pending before the court.
The Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government has completely ignored ex-President’s allegations that the military deliberately failed to thwart the public protest campaign that was launched on March 31, 2022. Gotabaya Rajapaksa went to the extent of alleging that Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General (retd.) Shavendra Silva and Defence Secretary General (retd.) Kamal Gunaratne may have failed to take tangible measures as they were under pressure due to war crimes accusations directed at them by the US. However, it must be pointed out that General Silva hadn’t been at the helm of the Army at the time Aragalaya overran Janadhipathi Mandiraya with ease.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa replaced General Silva on June 1, 2022, following the May 09 incidents which shook his government with Vikum Liyanage, also of the Gajaba Regiment as the Commander of the Army, though various interested parties found fault with Silva, who headed the celebrated 58 Division that in way spearheaded the war victory, for not protecting Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government.
The UNP also provided muscle to Aragalaya. Former MP and current presidential advisor Ashu Marasinghe and SJB MP and Minister Harin Fernando had declared the UNP’s direct role in Aragalaya whereas the JVP and its breakaway faction the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP/Peratugami Pakshaya) played a significant role. However, the vast majority of those who provided the real strength to the protest campaign were not members of any political party but angry Sri Lankans influenced by the collapsing of the economy. They also engaged in looting in some instances but there were organized groups which caused massive destruction, systematically at the behest of Aragalaya masterminds operating from behind the scene.
President Wickremesinghe should name those who had asked him to give up the premiership. Speaker Abeywardena, too, should reveal who threatened to harm him unless he fully cooperated with the Aragalaya.
By Lynn Ockersz
White-clad and smug,
In cavernous Limousines,
The dignitaries are back,
Trying out winning smiles,
Surveying the debacle,
Of these brave decades,
Of people and homesteads,
Sinking mercilessly,
In backwaters of neglect,
Which is the best proof yet,
That the land’s periphery,
Has not figured much,
On the planning boards,
Of those ‘strutting and fretting,
Their hour’ on high ground.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Jaffna district parliamentarian Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran’s recent declaration supportive of the militarily defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) particularly captured the public attention.
Then soon after, MP Sumanthiran surprised all by appearing on stage with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in Jaffna, where the UNP leader bestowed land deeds on a selected group of people.
With them on stage were EPDP leader Douglas Devananda, MP, and Dharmalingam Siddharthan, MP, of PLOTE/TNA whose father, Visvanather Dharmalingam, MP (Jaffna District) was assassinated by TELO at the behest of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Sept 1985. (Siddharthan himself told the writer that his father and colleague Jaffna District MP Arumugam Murugesu Alalasundaram were abducted and killed in a Mafia-style TELO operation). Will deal with Sumanthiran’s Jaffna move later.
Issuing a statement ahead of Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day that was marked on May 18 around the world, Sumanthiran, PC, now in his third term as a lawmaker, said: “Although it is my personal belief that a just political liberation cannot be achieved at the point of a gun, I have repeatedly stated that we cannot today decry or judge the decision taken by the Tamil youth who saw no other option at a time when oppression and military….”
The Illankai Arasu Katchi (ITAK) MP went on to say: “I have also consistently emphasized that the commitment and sacrifices unselfishly made by those who took up arms on our behalf should be regarded very highly.”
Sumanthiran tweeted hours before he paid respects to those who perished in fighting and the civilians at the Mullivaikkal commemoration site. However, Sumanthiran attended another commemoration also on the same day organized at the Viharamahadevi Park by several groups, including the Global Tamil Forum (GTF), to remember “all victims of war over 30 years in the North and South.”
Some found fault with MP Sumanthiran for attending the Colombo event where organizers quite rightly refrained from making reference to any particular group or community. There hadn’t been a similar remembrance event in Colombo since the end of the war 15 years ago. The same group organized an inter-religious prayer event at the Vavuniya Town Hall grounds, also on the same day.
The GTF should be commended for taking a courageous stand in spite of criticism by those who still seek advantage of the LTTE’s crushing defeat.
Perhaps, the GTF-led group should have made reference to Sri Lankans killed overseas due to terrorism, Indian military deaths here (July 1987-March 1990) and former Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in May 1991 while campaigning during a general election by a brainwashed LTTE teenage suicide cadre.
The Tamil community shouldn’t confine the war dead commemoration to those who died during the last phase of the fighting with the focus on Mullivaikkal. Commemorations whether in the North, East or Colombo should be devoid of any petty racial connotation, for all were human beings. Such events shouldn’t be allowed to cause further divisions among the communities, under any circumstances. Those who make unnecessary interventions with a view to attracting media attention should be appropriately dealt with by law enforcement authorities.
We also like to ask self-proclaimed international do-gooders why they don’t show even an iota of interest in the unimaginable suffering undergoing by Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis, while they make a song and dance about imaginary genocide they claim to have happened here during the last phase of fighting.
The ITAK is the main constituent of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that had been formed in late Oct 2001 in line with the community’s overall politico-military strategy to achieve Eelam. Against the backdrop of the worst-ever battlefield defeat that had been inflicted on the Army in April 2000, Eelam seemed achievable. Having defeated the 54 Division, deployed at the Elephant Pass sector then widely believed to be impregnable, thereafter the LTTE almost succeeded in overwhelming the Army in the rest of the peninsula.
Muslims’ dilemma
The Sinhalese and Tamils should also publicly repent the suffering experienced by the Muslim community. That community suffered untold hardships for being steadfastly taking a stand against separatism. Had they thrown their weight behind the LTTE, the country could have been overwhelmed and the 2009 absolute victory over the LTTE couldn’t have been achieved. So, do not hesitate to recognize the Muslims’ commitment as a whole to Sri Lanka’s unitary status. They paid a very heavy price for being always supportive of the government stand for a united Sri Lanka, whoever was in power.
The 2019 Easter Sunday massacre, carried out by a group of extremist misguided Muslims, shouldn’t in any way be used against the community. Officers and men of the Muslim and Tamil communities served in the armed forces and police with distinction and made quite a contribution to the overall success of the war.
Just five months after the LTTE resumed war in June 1990 in the wake of the IPKF withdrawal from the temporarily-merged North and East Provinces, the LTTE ordered the Muslims out of the Northern region, comprising Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaithivu and Vavuniya giving them a matter of hours to leave. The then President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s government couldn’t do anything about it. The international community turned a blind eye. Tamil politicians remained silent. No one dared to challenge the LTTE’s inhumane and drastic move.
Twenty-one years later a deranged Norwegian Andres Breivik massacred 77 persons, mostly children in two attacks the attacker claimed was influenced by the LTTE’s eviction of the Muslim community from Northern Sri Lanka.
Did the late LTTE theoretician and ideologue Anton Balasingham approve of Velupillai Prabhakaran’s plan to force Muslims out of the Northern Province? Balasingham, the one-time British High Commission employee in Colombo, passed away in the UK, in Dec 2006, of kidney failure, a couple of months before the LTTE lost control of the Eastern Province.
Far right Breivik, then 32, a few hours before he went on the rampage on July 22, 2011, made reference to the LTTE’s eviction of the Muslim community from the Northern Province, in his so-called manifesto posted online. The following are the references (1) Pro-Sri Lanka (supports the deportation of all Muslims from Sri Lanka) (Page 1235) and (2) Fourth Generation War is normally characterized by a ‘stateless’ entity fighting a state or regime (the EUSSR). Fighting can be physical such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to use a modern example. (Page 1479).
Perhaps, Sri Lanka should have asked those who had been demanding international inquiry to include the Norwegian massacre in their agenda. One of Sri Lanka’s foremost diplomats, the late Jayantha Dhanapala, appearing before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in 2010, stressed on the need for accountability on the part of foreign governments. The then Mahinda Rajapaksa government, probably blinded by unfathomable victory, was not bothered. It only saw immediate political advantage out of the developments even forgetting the long term ramifications for the country.
Focus on Sumanthiran
Sumanthiran on his knees before the Mullaivaikkal monument
(pic courtesy Tamil Guardian)
Maybe MP Sumanthiran should have recognized the LTTE as the group that continued the war until the very end. The parliamentarian shouldn’t have hesitated to do so though terrorism cannot be justified under any circumstances. The LTTE, however, proved its conventional capabilities throughout the war. The casualties, and the losses the group inflicted on the Indian Army underscored its fighting capabilities.
As Sumanthiran entered Parliament at the 2010 General Election, perhaps he hadn’t been affected by the LTTE’s wartime strategies and unprecedented developments that characterized the conflict, with him comfortably settled down in Wellawatte.
The writer first met Sumanthiran at A.J.M. Muzammil’s (incumbent Governor of the Uva Province) residence at No 07, Alfred House Road, Colombo 03 in June 2011. Muzammil, who had been a UNP member of the Western Provincial Council (WPC), arranged the writer to interview former Tamil Nadu State Assembly Congress I member Hasanali Kuddus at his residence. The new entrant to the Parliament Attorney-at-Law Sumanthiran, too, was there on that occasion and the writer had an opportunity to seek his opinion on some contentious matters.
Naturally, matters raised herein included the recognition of the LTTE by the TNA as the sole representative of the Tamil speaking people ahead of the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement (Feb 2002), LTTE-TNA joint boycott of 2005 presidential poll that cost UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe victory (the writer wouldn’t humiliate the defunct LTTE by repeating allegation that the Rajapaksas bribed the LTTE to order the boycott. The LTTE may have accepted money but the boycott was not certainly inspired by that) and still unbelievable was the TNA backing for the war-winning Army Chief Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the 2010 Presidential Poll. The TNA ensured a comfortable victory for Fonseka in the entire then merged North-East Province though he lost badly in the rest of the country. Mahinda Rajapaksa secured a second term by obtaining 1.8 mn votes more than Fonseka. A silly claim of computer “jilmaart” by Fonseka’s camp made his defeat even worse.
Kuddus, in an exclusive interview with The Island, strongly defended the eradication of the LTTE though concerns remained of atrocities allegedly committed by the military. Declaring that Sri Lanka couldn’t be punished on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations, Kuddus said that no country would be safe if legitimate governments were deprived of the opportunity to neutralize threats posed by terrorism. If Sri Lanka could be questioned over its right to hit back hard at the LTTE, what would be the position of the Indian military battling those who had taken up arms? (Congress I member Hasanali speaks out, The Island, June 16, 2011 edition)
At the April 2010 General Glection, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won 14 seats. Thirteen were elected while the party secured just one of the 29 National List slots. The TNA picked Sumanthiran as its NL member. It would be pertinent to mention that the TNA was placed third in terms of the number of seats won at that election. The UPFA secured a staggering 144 seats, including 17 NL slots whereas the UNP-led United National Front obtained 60 seats. Nine NL MPs were among them.
The TNA tally drastically dropped due to the eradication of the LTTE. At the previous general election conducted in April 2004, close on the heels of the devastating split in the group, the TNA won a record 22 seats, including two NL slots. The European Union Election Observation Mission, in its report found fault with the TNA for being the beneficiary of poll violence unleashed by the Tigers to stuff ballot boxes in TNA’s favour. That was the best outcome for the TNA at a general election.
At the last General Election, the TNA tally was reduced to 10 MPs. It is a pity that Sumanthiran couldn’t gain the leadership of the ITAK at a keenly contested election in January this year. Jaffna District lawmaker Sivagnanam Sritharan secured 184 votes while M.A. Sumanthiran obtained 137 votes.
Let us get back to MP Sumanthiran’s appearance on stage in Jaffna with President Wickremesinghe last week. During his brief statement, the President’s Counsel made reference to the LTTE-TNA boycott of the 2005 Presidential Poll that caused Wickremesinghe’s defeat, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election and the unthinkable annihilation of the LTTE. The Presidential Media Division (PMD) quoted Sumanthiran as having told the gathering: “It is possible that the challenges in the North may have impeded your journey in 2005, a fact that I believe is now regretfully acknowledged by the people of the region.”
In the wake of a minor commotion over MP Sumanthiran’s appearance on stage with Wickremesinghe, the PC tweeted that his attendance at the state functions in his electorate shouldn’t be considered as an endorsement of the UNP leader’s candidature at the forthcoming Presidential Poll. The Jaffna District MP’s tweet is irrelevant. His declaration pertaining to the 2005 Presidential Poll clearly meant his support for Wickremesinghe.
The bottom line is that if not for that strategic mistake made by the LTTE and TNA in 2005, they could have achieved military superiority in the North after the then expected UNP victory as Wickremesinghe hardly making even a whimper against the LTTE. MP Sumanthiran’s politically charged statement in Jaffna should be examined also taking into consideration two key developments-in April 2003 (LTTE quit negotiating table) and January 2010 (backed General Fonseka).
The TNA could have used the opportunity to reach a consensus with President Rajapaksa if the party at least adopted a neutral stance. Instead, the TNA joined with the UNP and the JVP to defeat President Rajapaksa, thereby causing a lot of hostility. Backing Fonseka also dealt a severe blow to the TNA’s credibility in the backdrop of war crimes accusations directed at the Army.
GR meets Sampanthan at India House
Sumanthiran cannot be unaware of an attempt made by India in 2011 to work out an arrangement between President Rajapaksa’s government and the TNA.
TNA leader R. Sampanthan has been keen to normalize relations between his party and the government. The veteran politician appeared to have felt that such an arrangement could have helped his community and sought Indian intervention. But a section of the party sabotaged that effort, thereby undermining reconciliatory moves.
Following an incident at Alaveddi that had been staged by the group opposed to Sampanthan’s bid, an angry Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the writer of a hitherto unreported meeting between him and Sampanthan at India House on June 08, 2011. The meeting that had taken place in the presence of the then Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kantha could have facilitated post-war reconciliation.
Pointing out that the June 16 incident at Alaveddi was meant to harm reconciliatory moves, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that unwarranted interventions made by various interested parties, including the US, caused complications (GR alleges TNA split over Sampanthan’s reconciliation move with strapline ‘TNA pressured US State Department, several diplomatic missions to take up Alaveddi issue’ in the June 20, 2011 edition of The Island.
Recently SJB MP Mano Ganesan attacked TNA over what he called its post-war honeymoon with the government. A comprehensive post-war examination of political developments, commencing with the formation of the TNA at the behest of the LTTE, is necessary to comprehend the situation today.
The arrest of four persons in February 2017 during the Yahapalana administration, over an alleged attempt on Sumanthiran’s life, underscores the need for a wider examination of developments. The suspects held under Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) were granted bail in Oct 2022.
During that administration, the TNA played quite an important role with Sampanthan receiving the Opposition Leader’s post though his party had only 16 seats, including two NL slots whereas the breakaway UPFA faction comprised over 50 MPs. But, Yahapalana bosses decided in favour of TNA. In return, the TNA helped thwart President Maithripala Sirisena’s bid to form a new government under the premiership of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Formed in late Oct 2018, the Sirisena-Rajapaksa effort collapsed in 52 days. Sumanthiran played a significant role in the counter attack in support of ousted Wickremesinghe, who continued to insist he was the Premier regardless of the appointment made by Sirisena. Finally, the SC ruled in favour of Wickremesinghe. The rest is history. However, in the wake of 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, MP Sumanthiran said something which he shouldn’t have said under any circumstances. Addressing the first anniversary event of the political weekly ‘Annidha’ on April 29, 2019 at the BMICH, the TNA spokesman justified the heinous crime. He warned of dire consequences unless the government addressed the grievances of the minorities.
Sumanthiran is best remembered for his role in working out a tripartite agreement on a hybrid war crimes court as announced in Washington in June 2016.
Political parties need to make a genuine effort to move forward. The post-war reconciliation wouldn’t be realistic until parties represented in Parliament stopped playing politics with the war. The Tamil community should accept the LTTE had ample opportunities to reach consensus with the Sinhala leadership, particularly Ranil Wickremesinghe, who pursued a strategy even at the expense of his political life. The LTTE’s cardinal sin or serious error of judgment was the April 2003 withdrawal from the Norway-led peace effort. That was meant to create an environment conducive for full scale war that the group felt could have been brought to a successful conclusion by it. The LTTE was certainly ready for war in August 2005. If not, Prabhakaran wouldn’t have ordered Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar’s assassination. Full scale war commenced exactly a year later and what was widely believed to be an invincible force collapsed within two years and 10 months. Had the military not taken the civilian factor into consideration, the LTTE could have been wiped out much earlier. The ICRC said so as revealed by WikiLeaks.
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